Friday, November 9, 2012

TANZANIA: Boys to boycott circumcision - until girls are cut too

Elders unrelenting on FGM

By Anthony Mayunga
Serengeti. Elders in Mara Region have embarked on a campaign to
convince boys to boycott circumcision as a protest against global
condemnation of female genital mutilation (FGM) whose season starts in
December.

The elders believe that their move to prevent boys from getting the
cut will evoke anger among practitioners who will react by enforcing a
revival of both types of the cut (female and male) and pretend it is an
order from ancestors to cleanse the community, failure of which will
lead to punitive measures. [Imagine if it were to backfire, and genital cutting simply ended!]

A survey by The Citizen in Serengeti, Tarime and Rorya districts
found that campaigns for the revival of FGM appealed to clan elders and
most of them would gladly support the practice.

"Some of the boys have threatened to boycott the initiation rite
unless girls are also involved. They claim that during initiation boys
and girls walk together as couples, a situation they believe makes the
process colourful," said one of the anti-FGM parents who preferred
anonymity.

The source said there were conflicting groups of elders who differed
on FGM in the region. While some groups support the practice, a majority
joined the government and NGOs to vehemently condemn it. The government
condemned FGM which violates the Child Act enacted in 2009 and the
Sexual Offences Special Provisions Act (SOSPA 1998).

Kalamu Hussein, one of the educators advocating against gender-based
violence under the Christian Church of Tanzania (CCT) at Kisumwa Ward in
Rorya, said he feared that genital mutilation would be widely practised
in several districts, especially in the area.

"Some of them perform initiation during the night to avoid law
enforcers," said Mr Hussein on the practitioners.For her part, the
coordinator of a project launched to fight gender-based violence in
Serengeti District, Ms Sophia Mchomvu, said the campaign to revive FGM
persuaded several elders who had initially denounced circumcision to
reverse their attitude.

"FGM campaigners target elders who have vowed before government
officials that they will support it to eradicate the harmful practice,"
she added.